Relating to the disclosure by a pharmacy to a patient of certain price information for a drug or biological product.
Summary
SB 1098 would require pharmacies to tell a patient the lowest cash price available at that pharmacy for the prescribed drug or biological product. It also requires the pharmacist to offer the patient the option to pay that lower cash price when it is less than the patient’s insurance copayment. The bill is aimed at making prescription pricing more transparent at the point of sale and helping patients avoid paying more than necessary for medications.
The bill amends Section 562.003 of the Texas Occupations Code, which governs pharmacy disclosure of price information. If enacted, it would create an affirmative disclosure duty for pharmacies and a corresponding patient option when cash pricing is cheaper than the copay under a prescription drug insurance plan. The bill takes effect September 1, 2025, and would apply to drugs and biological products dispensed by Texas pharmacies.
Impact
SB 1098 would change Texas pharmacy practice requirements by adding a specific obligation to disclose the lowest cash price and to offer that price when it is below the patient’s insurance copayment. This could affect pharmacies, pharmacists, patients with prescription drug coverage, and insurers by increasing price transparency and potentially reducing out-of-pocket costs for some patients. The bill directly amends the Occupations Code and would be implemented statewide in pharmacies beginning September 1, 2025.
Sentiment
The available legislative history suggests generally favorable treatment of the bill, as reflected by its advancement through the process and placement on the House General State Calendar. No committee transcript is available here, and the recorded vote entries shown are procedural rather than substantive, so there is little direct evidence of debate or opposition in the provided materials. Overall, the bill appears to have moved forward without visible controversy in the record provided.
Contention
The main policy issue likely concerns prescription drug pricing and whether pharmacies should be required to proactively disclose lower cash prices when they beat insurance copays. Support would generally come from patients, consumer advocates, and possibly some pharmacists who favor transparency, while potential concerns could come from pharmacies, pharmacy benefit stakeholders, or insurers worried about administrative burden, pricing practices, or effects on negotiated drug benefits. Because no committee transcript is provided, specific arguments for or against the bill are not documented in the supplied record.
Amends the types of products which pharmacists may prescribe as substitute drugs or products to include "devices and supplies" and "therapeutically equivalent drugs and pharmaceuticals".
Amends the types of products which pharmacists may prescribe as substitute drugs or products to include "devices and supplies" and "therapeutically equivalent drugs and pharmaceuticals."
Enacts the "foreign drug transparency act" to provide information on the origin, manufacture and distribution of prescription drugs; requires a pharmacy benefit manager to maintain, and make available to pharmacies, health plans, and patients upon request, supply chain information for prescription drugs covered under its network.
Enacts the "foreign drug transparency act" to provide information on the origin, manufacture and distribution of prescription drugs; requires a pharmacy benefit manager to maintain, and make available to pharmacies, health plans, and patients upon request, supply chain information for prescription drugs covered under its network.